#wattamelonroll

[vondiceoriginal]

#winco just made me the happiest fat kid in #arizona. #wincofoods #friendlys #wattamelon #wattamelonroll

[thecreamteamblr-blog]

Wattamelon Roll

‘Sensational Spelling’: that’s what it’s called when companies deliberately use a non-standard spelling for special effect in marketing (more like Sinsational amirite?). A prime example of this ridiculous strategy is Froot Loops. Possibly a more recent one is Friendly’s Wattamelon Roll. I say “possibly” because it was only this summer that I noticed watermelon was deliberately misspelled on the packaging. This seems impossible since I have been eating Wattamelon Roll my whole life, but a quick Google search reveals no trace of the more sober standardly-spelled summer ice cream roll that exists in my imagination. Maybe Friendly’s has scrubbed all traces of its existence from the information super highway? Maybe they were forced to change the name for legal reasons after it was discovered the Wattamelon Roll contains no actual watermelon? Maybe, just maybe, no such roll ever existed.

The frozen food aisles are lined with the bones of ice cream rolls that didn’t make it (see the Dinosaur Dig Roll) but the Wattamelon Roll and its winter counterpart, the Jubilee Roll, have the kind of staying power that will keep the Friendly’s name around long after the last brick and mortar shop closes its doors (any minute now).

I have two theories for why this is: 1.) It looks like a watermelon, and 2.) You can eat the rind and seeds. It’s actually the latter part of point two (the dark chocolate “seeds” scattered throughout the watermelon and lemon flavored sherbet) that moves the Wattamelon Roll beyond the realm of novelty item. While some companies have ventured into uncharted territory in the “rainbow” sherbet department (see Publix’s Exotic Fruit Medley, which combines passion fruit, blood orange, and cactus pear) very few brands have tried the bold move of adding the nuts/candy/cookies/chocolates/syrups that are so common in the ice cream and frozen yogurt world.

In the end, like all successful ice creams, it’s not only the a question of flavor and texture; it’s about finding just the right balance. Friendly’s has done it here. It is, and forever shall be, their crowning achievement.

A+